GOP thrown in turmoil as deadlines loom

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's stunning decision to drop out of the race to become the next speaker left Republicans in disarray Thursday, threatening to deepen long-standing fractures in the party just as Congress faces a string of key deadlines.

The California Republican, who had failed to win over GOP conservatives, said he stepped aside after concluding he would be unable to unite the party after current Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio leaves.

'We're servants. We should put this conference first,” McCarthy said. 'If we are going to unite and be strong, we need a new face.”

Party officials abruptly canceled plans for Thursday's nomination vote, which McCarthy was expected to easily win. An Oct. 29 floor vote where his chances were far less certain remains in doubt.

Lawmakers had just settled in for a lunch session over barbecue sandwiches when McCarthy stood up and shocked his peers by announcing he wasn't the right candidate at this moment for the speaker's job.

'He simply said that he didn't want it to be divisive and when it came to running for speaker, he's not the guy,” said Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus that played a role in forcing out Boehner and opposing McCarthy.

McCarthy's bid for the post was hurt by a high-profile TV stumble in which he appeared to suggest that the Republican-led House investigation of the 2012 Benghazi attack was largely aimed at weakening Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

'That wasn't helpful,” McCarthy said Thursday. 'I could have said it much better.”

Many conservative House members have expressed concerns they would be hard-pressed to explain to voters in their districts why they supported McCarthy, who was seen as too closely aligned with the current Republican leadership.

The scene at Thursday's meeting was chaotic, as some lawmakers cried and others rushed off, stunned to find the House Republican majority snared by another internal crisis. It came less than two weeks after Boehner's own sudden announcement that he'll leave Congress.

McCarthy's withdrawal averts a nasty leadership fight for now, but it leaves unanswered the question of who might step in to unite the party.

With no apparent front-runner for leadership, Boehner said he would remain speaker until the House picks a replacement for him.

With Congress in recess next week, another round of nomination voting is not expected until Oct. 19 at the earliest.

McCarthy's fall capped his swift rise in the House Republican leadership. The former sandwich shop owner from Bakersfield was elected to the House in 2006. But it also showed the increasing power of a new generation of conservative Republicans, many of whom McCarthy had recruited.

That same block of conservatives moved against him, worried he would continue to run the House the same.

Late Wednesday, the Freedom Caucus, which could control 40 to 50 votes, threw its support to Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida, one of its own members, who has little chance of broader success. Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, another candidate who made a last-minute play to run as an alternative to McCarthy, suffered a setback when his campaign was panned by the conservatives, leaving him without a base of support.

The confusion threatens to stall progress on congressional action including an upcoming Nov. 5 deadline to raise the debt limit, renewal of an expiring highway program and budget negotiations.

Boehner has pledged to tackle some items before stepping down, but that is likely to further infuriate the right flank, which is loath to compromise with President Barack Obama. By December, the government risks another shutdown.

Democrats called on the GOP to act quickly.

'Republican chaos is likely to get worse before it gets better, but the economic livelihood of the American people should not be threatened as a result of Republicans' inability to govern,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.